Bucolic briefs

The election of pork producer delegate candidates for the 2011 National Pork Producers (Pork Act) Delegate Body will be held Aug. 3 at 1 p.m. in conjunction with the Board of Directors meeting of the N.C. Pork Council. The meeting will be in the N.C. Farm Bureau offices at 5301 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh. All N.C. pork producers are invited to attend.

Any producer who is a resident of the state and has paid all assessments due may be considered as a delegate candidate and/or participate in the election. All eligible producers are encouraged to bring a sales receipt proving that hogs were sold in their name and the checkoff deducted. For more, contact NCPC, at (919) 781-0361 or 2300 Rexwoods Drive, Suite 340, Raleigh, NC 27607.

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An open horse show will be held Aug. 21 at Biggerstaff Park in Dallas, featuring English and Western classes. The show starts at 11 a.m. For more, call Judy Yarborough at (704) 400-1899 or e-mail at JudyYar@aol.com.

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B&M Stables in Four Oaks will offer a series of half-day horsemanship clinics with horse trainer Blaine McLaughlin. Following are clinic dates: Aug. 28, Sept. 25, Oct. 23 and Nov. 20. Classes run 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and cost $75. Classes are limited to five riders. For more, contact Michele McLaughlin, (919) 934-1344 or by e-mail at sileeno@ipass.net.

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The Equestrian Exchange Consignment Sale will be held Sept. 2-6 in the Holshouser Building at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. The sale provides a venue for buying and selling a variety of horse items, riding equipment, saddles, tack, barn supplies for all disciplines and levels of riding experience. Items can be dropped off Aug. 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. or Sept. 1 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Volunteers can shop Sept. 2 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., consignors can shop from 1-9 p.m. and the public sale will be from 5-9 p.m. Cost for the public is $7 on Sept. 2, but free on all other days. Sale hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sept. 3-5 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 6. Unsold items must be picked up Sept. 7 from 1-8 p.m. For more, contact Lynn Beeson, (336) 697-1097 or 362-6248 or Tanya Wright, (540) 977-1950.

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The N.C. Simmerntal Association will hold its Fall Harvest Sale Sept. 4 at noon in Union Grove. For more, or a sale catalog, call (336) 468-1679 or go to www.ncsimmental.com.

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The Johnston County Horse Show Series is open to riders and horses from all riding levels, breeds and disciplines. All events will be held at the Johnston County Livestock Arena in Smithfield. Following are upcoming dates and start times: Sept. 4 and Oct. 2. All shows start at 8:30 a.m. Rain dates for all events will be the following day. For more, contact Michele McLaughlin at (919) 934-1344, by e-mail at sileeno@ipass.net or go to www.ipass.net/blaine_mclaughlin.

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The North Carolina chapter of Re-Run, a non-profit organization that places ex-racehorses into adoptive homes, now has thoroughbred racehorses available for adoption. Thoroughbreds are versatile and do well in any number of disciplines including shows, events, fox hunting or pleasure riding, according to Elizabeth Macdonald with Re-Run. For more, go to www.rerun.org or contact Elizabeth Macdonald at hemacd@mindspring.com.

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The United States Equine Rescue League Inc. has hundreds of healthy horses available for adoption. All horses have current Coggins test, up-to-date vaccines and various levels of training. There is a small fee to adopt. To learn more about fostering, adopting or volunteering go to www.USERL.org or contact the corporate office in Raleigh by phone, (800) 650-8549, or by e-mail info@userl.org.

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The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Veterinary division is looking for small or large backyard or independent poultry flocks to test for avian influenza throughout the state. A minimum of 10 birds per flock would be tested by oral swabs four times each year at no cost to the owner. This program is to maintain surveillance for bird flu in North Carolina. Bird owners with questions or who want to be sure their flock is free of bird flu, can contact Dr. Sarah Mason or Jimmy Collie at (919) 733-7601.